Recipes

Chicken Stewed in Coconut Milk (Kuku Wa Nazi)

  • Serves

    serves 4

JAMES FISHER

Coconut milk is used in chicken stews from Southeast Asia to Africa, from which this fragrant dish hails. The recipe was given to us by Lela Abdulaziz, a home cook in Mombasa, and we included it in Shane Mitchell's tribute to East African cooking, Kenya's Bounty (May 2010).

Ingredients

  • 14 cup canola oil
  • 1 12 tsp. ground turmeric
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 green or red Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
  • 4 plum tomatoes, cored and minced
  • 1 medium red onion, minced
  • 4 skinless bone-in chicken legs and thighs, separated
  • 14 cup fresh lime juice
  • 2 (14-oz.) cans coconut milk
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 cups cooked rice, for serving
  • Finely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

Step 1

Heat the oil in a 6-qt. pot over medium-high heat. Add the turmeric, garlic, chiles, tomatoes, and onions and cook, stirring often, until the onions are caramelized, 20-25 minutes. Add chicken to pot along with lime juice and coconut milk. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 2

To serve, put rice into 4 serving bowls and spoon chicken and sauce over rice. Garnish with cilantro and season with more black pepper.

Continue to Next Story

Want more SAVEUR?

Get our favorite recipes, stories, and more delivered to your inbox.